ICEF Bachelor’s Degree Graduates Have Successfully Defended Their Theses

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Of the 180 undergraduates who defended their theses in 2022, six obtained the maximum score of 10. Here’s what the top achievers think had led to successful thesis defense, how they prepared it, and what they are planning to do next.

The best theses of 2022:

Optimizing the Bond Portfolio Profitability Performance Through the Use of Structured Products. Author: Vyacheslav Buchkov. Research supervisor: Veronika Chistotinova.

Asset Valuation in Incomplete Markets with Heterogeneous Agents. Author: Alexander Vlasov. Research supervisor: Udara Peiris.

Microstructural Analysis of Short Selling Regulation Efficiency. Author: Andrey Voronin. Research supervisor: Alexey Boulatov.

Competition and Competitiveness in the Labor Market. Author: Anna Davidovich. Research supervisor: Alexey Belyanin.

Online or Offline Competition Models in Further Education Market. Author: Alexander Shivarov. Research supervisor: Alla Fridman.

The Impact of Social Networks on Asset Valuation. Author: Elena Yagafarova. Research supervisor: Vincent Fardeau.

Andrey Voronin

I approached my supervisor, Alexey Boulatov, with the topic of financial bubbles knowing that he has a vast research experience in a related field. We met repeatedly over a course of few months to discuss my previous research and how it could be developed until we finally arrived at the idea of growth market rule. The concept sounded interesting and was what Alexey Boulatov was working on himself, so I chose it to be the topic of my thesis. My thesis is mainly about what short sale restrictions may lead to when SSR is a justified option.

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Working with Alexey Boulatov proved a highly encouraging experience – mostly because I was able to follow his line of thinking and his methodology. And given my plans to pursue a career in research, this has been an invaluable experience for me. It seems that my further research will be largely guided in the next few years by what I’ve learned from my supervisor. 

Our interaction wasn’t limited to thesis preparation only. While earlier in October, when I applied my PhD programme and had only a vague understanding of the line of research I would be in, I now have greater awareness about Economics as a field of research from both theoretical and practical perspectives. My experience of being guided by Alexey Boulatov has shown me how economists can exist in the role as scientists. 

At some point in my thesis defense, things started to take a curious course. The committee had literally jumped on my paper – hopefully because they really wanted to get to the core. Most of their questions were clarifying in nature, but there was one, from Anatoly Patrick, which led me to a couple of good thoughts. Even though the question itself had little to do with my subject matter and was phrased as a suggestion for a related topic. It made a point as possible research direction for me to take up.

I’m all set to do my PhD. I feel greatly inspired and desperately grateful to all who supported me during my studies at ICEF and especially to Alla Friedman, Alexey Boulatov, Emiliano Catonini, Steven Kivinen and Nikita Toropov. 

Vyacheslav Buchkov

My thesis focus is on structured notes and portfolio management—the topics I developed an interest in even before enrolling in ICEF and which have kept me interested throughout these four years. I started to explore them academically as my coursework topics in the end of year one, and I then used the opportunity to go on and incorporate them in my thesis as a highlight topic, thus keeping myself keenly involved and looking to benefit some of the products that I and my colleagues are working on in the workplace.

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In addition to the numerous extracurricular resources, research publications and contributions from practicing experts that I used as sources, my graduation thesis was for the most part contributed by my experience with structured products. It was that something that allowed my research to go beyond the usual framework of a bachelor’s thesis and into a more practical domain.

I was very lucky to have the supervisor (Editor’s note: Veronika Chistotinova) that I had. Our sharing of common research interests and having similar professional experience has enabled quite a productive interaction through frequent discussions, exchange of ideas and high level of mutual understanding. And given that my supervisor is in structured products, too, our cooperation appeared most intense during writing the case studies part.

Looking back, I see that I was able to merge those seemingly small models, ideas and observations into a solid piece of work. One of my biggest takeaways from that work is “everything counts in large amounts.” Even a minor detail or idea is worth taking note of and working on.

It was largely thanks to my supervisor at ICEF that my thesis writing proved one of the most exciting experiences for me. I really hope she enjoyed working with me as much as I enjoyed working with her. And if ICEF had an Oscar award to celebrate its best student research supervisors, this year’s one would definitely go to her.

Since I was totally keen on the topic and didn’t have even the slightest bit of thought I might forget something or fail to answer a relevant question, I found it unnecessary to revise and reread my thesis for defense. Besides, I was able to use my experience of presenting to clients and colleagues at the workplace and thus avoid negative thoughts and embarrassment when quizzed by the committee. Instead, I pretended I was presenting to the people that I’d dealt with many times before.

My preparation basically came down to “exercising” my thesis defense in the office. I asked my colleagues and my managers to act as my committee by deliberating about my research and asking tricky questions. This, indeed, had proved the most productive part of preparation – the very opportunity to have my research study examined by those with experience much wider than my own did benefit my paper. It proved a useful test and gave me future directions for research. It even inspired me to go further than the customary bachelor’s thesis and start a larger research project, which, if successful, might be of use to “masters” of derivatives and structured products. That’s the line of study I’m planning to continue, but mostly on my own now.

One thing that I think proved to be key for my success was the resumption of in-person defenses here in the campus in Pokrovka, the latter having become my beloved second home. I know it from the experience of my classmates how difficult the defense can be when you don’t have the in-person interaction with your committee. It's no secret that the thing they assess in the first place is precisely the ability to tell about your research and to “sell” it, which seems to be much easier to demonstrate while presenting in a familiar setting than in Zoom. This I think has been crucial to my thesis defense.

My plan for now is to keep my career moving forward by challenging myself in new roles. As I learned from my experience of alternating many challenging working weeks with Saturday classes in my third and fourth year, it is through this work/study combination that the quality knowledge of finance comes from. Just as many of the curious, and yet too far-fetched, scientific studies cannot do without the elegant simplicity of practical approaches, too much of a practical focus can make the industry blind to the disruptive ideas that get generated by the academia. My plan is simple – to continue trying to combine both through never-ceasing attempt to cram a thousand things into one day.

Anna Davidovich

Like all fourth-year students, I was faced with the choice of thesis topic and supervisor. My interests as a student of ICEF lay primarily in the fields of economics and finance, but after I read Daniel Kahneman’s “Think Slowly ... Decide Quickly” – the book about human behavior, irrational actions, cognitive distortions – I decided to give my research a new tone. What also sparked my interest was the first lecture on experimental and behavioral economics that we were given by Alexey Belyanin. I thought it would be of great advantage for me to have him guiding my research, so when I got a positive reply from him I knew I gained that very platform that I needed for doing that research.

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My research involved the study of cognitive psychology and decision-making as a process, and it basically explores the gender stereotyping with respect to competition in performing different types of tasks. The major part of my research came down to the experiment designed to reveal the gender differences in response to competition. My supervisor believed in me as a researcher. That I enjoyed pursuing my research and had put my heart and soul into it was thanks to Alexey Belyanin. He and my committee gave my thesis highly positive assessments. I am satisfied with the results and the fact that my research marked an important step in deciding on my future career plans.

My journey as a researcher has just started. And as with many early-career scientists, mine has been more about benefitting me than science itself. By assuming the role as researchers we gain knowledge and experience that may bring cardinal changes to our lives. For me, such changes became possible precisely thanks to the knowledge I received at ICEF and, most importantly, the desire to try new fields and grow professionally that ICEF has instilled in me. My research experience has encouraged me to continue exploring the realms of cognitive psychology and cognitive sciences.

It’s great when a research topic you are keen on can be pursued in an environment as productive as ICEF’s!

Alexander Shivarov

My thesis topic aligns closely with my academic interests. I am currently involved in a large online/offline learning project, and my other passion is exploring the theoretical frameworks for economics. I managed to read a huge number of papers on industrial economics theories, which in itself has been a very enriching experience. Thanks to my supervisor, Alla Fridman, who prompted many of good reads and, importantly, set high standards to my paper, my research was at all times heading in the right direction. I felt inspired to progress and meet new challenges.

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My way of preparing for thesis defense was a standard one, involving presentation itself, scripts, couple rehearsals, discussion with supervisor, comments-based revision. I was sure to get a good night’s sleep before the day and was therefore able to present confidently. None of the questions came as tricky to me, which was perhaps because I was able to navigate the issues easily or because my topic seemed too narrow. It was my personal research and I conducted it purely out of personal interest.

My plan after ICEF is to continue working on my online/offline training projects.